


More Than Bargained For

by EmerialynCodeVenice



Series: Djinn Dirk AU [10]
Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Comfort, Dirk Is Hot, Dirk Takes It All Wrong, Dirk's Agoraphobia (Fear of People/Crowds), Dirk's Been Wearing Jake's Clothes, Djinn Dirk Oneshot Series, Especially With Gawking Tourists, Fluff, Jealous Jake Doesn't Approve, M/M, NICE LEGS DAISY DUKES--, Possessive Jake, Recovering/Traumatized Dirk, Shopping Is ANnoying, They Can't Stop Staring, Trouble With Clothes, for two months
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-09 01:53:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13471212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmerialynCodeVenice/pseuds/EmerialynCodeVenice
Summary: It's been over two months, you'd think that Jake would have gotten Dirk his own clothing by now. In order to rectify this, they go shopping... but get more than they bargained for.AKA: Djinn Dirk has trouble with the clothing and Jake has trouble with everything else.





	More Than Bargained For

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PaopuConMostaza](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaopuConMostaza/gifts).



> This was written for PaopuConMostaza who first gave me the idea of Jake finally buying clothes for Dirk and the shopping trip not being a ‘cut-and-dry’ as an ‘in and out’ situation. Hopefully I hit all the points we talked about!

                                                                                                 

Jake fidgets, glancing back and forth from one side of the fitting room to the other. He really had no reason to be acting so jumpy-- _for pete sake’s he was acting as paranoid as Dirk… which, not to say that Dirk wasn’t allowed to be jumpy given his background; it was just an admittedly less than healthy habit--_ but he couldn’t help himself all the same.

 

They were in one of the many shopping districts in the dreadfully warm land of Mumbai, India--the first stop of the Maharaja Express train tour. Jake had already planned to get into a city as soon as possible on account of the fact that Dirk, while fetching in his clothing-- _almost… almost too fetching--_ was in dire need of his own that fit him properly.

 

As a result, the moment they had arrived in the city and Dirk was fully awake and comfortable despite the crowd, Jake had pulled them off the train, hailed the nearest taxi-- _or whatever the blazes they called it in this part of the globe; Jake couldn’t be expected to keep up with it all--_ and instructed the driver to take them to the most reasonable shopping district.

 

Which led them to this moment here.

 

Now, Jake prided himself on being a reasonable gentleman, with a score of self-control and dashing charm, but this… this _current activity_ was about to push him off a cliff with no such rope to spare. What activity could possibly be so dangerous for a world traveler such as he?

 

Well…

 

“...Jake?” A tentative voice asks from behind one of the many dressing doors. “...it’s stuck again.”

 

Jake swallows, wiping sweaty palms-- _sweaty from the heat of the country, he’d assure anyone--_ before standing from the uncomfortable bench where people waiting for their clothes-trying compatriots were to sit. “R-right, Treasure!” He exhales, calming himself. “I’m… coming in!”

 

He walks to the door and pushes it open-- _he almost wished it was locked, but that would be ridiculous since Dirk was the one asking for him to come in--_ hands gripping as he came face to face with Dirk’s flustered expression. Or, rather, it wasn’t the flustered expression that bothered him-- _though that too was… very attractive--_ but rather the fact that _Dirk was standing in Jake’s boxers with his torso bare and hands trapped in a shirt above him._

 

Jake swallowed again. _Oh, Christ Almighty…_

 

Dirk turns in his general direction, only the top of his face revealing his panicked expression. Jake didn’t blame him. Clothing on this side of the globe was far more complicated than the simple shorts and shirts that Jake had been borrowing Dirk prior to this-- _as well as the… boxers that Dirk was currently displaying seemingly without a care in the world--_ and, as a result, Jake, after locating some random bits of clothing he thought would fit, had been spending the previous hour on pins and needles as, every few minutes, Dirk would inevitably call Jake into the dressing room to help him from whatever clothing predicament he had strangely gotten himself into.

 

...Including this right now.

 

_Good God, this was a type of torture he wasn’t sure he could deal with._

 

Jake breathes out, hoping that the shakiness he felt wasn’t displayed in his smile as he reached over to touch the sides of Dirk’s skin. _Very pale, smooth, flawless--_

 

“Right-o, chap!” he says loudly in an effort to distract himself from his own thoughts as he moves his hand up to untangle the fabric from Dirk’s armpits and push up. “How do you keep getting yourself stuck like this?”

 

Dirk, looking as pitiful like a kicked puppy, frowns and looks away with an ashamed expression as he struggled to free his arms. “I’m… sorry, Jake. I, I don’t know why I keep messing up--”

 

Jake’s eyes widened as he quickly pulled the rest of the shirt-- _contraption? Torture device?--_ off of Dirk’s head and pressed his hands to Dirk’s shoulders without thinking. “No, no! I’m sorry, chickpea, I didn’t mean to make it sound like this was problematic in any way,” he quickly corrects, mentally ignoring the ways that it _did_ challenge Jake’s willpower. “You need clothes, and it is not one bit your fault that the clothing on this side of the globe is rather confounding.”

 

Jake is more than a bit relieved when Dirk finally smiles. It’s small, but it’s quite like the sight of the sunlight just peeking over the hill--full of potential and warmth.

 

_Speaking of warmth…_

 

The adventurer freezes as he realizes his position. He was with Dirk. In a tiny clothing room in Mumbai, India. _With Dirk._ He had his hands on Dirk’s shoulders. _A very shirtless Dirk._ There was barely any room between them. _Between Dirks faces and lips--_

 

He flinches his hands back, raising them to his mouth to _cough_ exaggeratedly-- _praying that Dirk didn’t notice anything in particular--_ before waving his hand at the pile of odd clothing. “Let’s see if we can find a proper English tailor or store,” spoke Jake finally. “While attractive, I’ll admit that it’s likely that these bits of fabrics will not fit in every place we travel to. Let’s… get your shirt back on and go, shall we?”

 

Dirk seems to hesitate before nodding, reaching over with his long, slender arms to _Jake’s shirt--because, you fool, he doesn’t have anything else and oh Jiminy Christmas why did you wait so long--_ before pulling it on after a few quick movements. He then put on _Jake’s shorts--this was unrightfully fair, yet, Jake knew he had courted it to himself--_ before turning back to Jake and nodding, completely oblivious to the way of the world and Jake’s less than platonic faults. “I’m ready.”

 

Jake nods, pushing the changing door open and beckoning Dirk to leave before him-- _not for any unscrupulous reasons, just because Jake was a gentleman--_ and following him out of the changing room.

 

The actual store was bustling and Dirk immediately pressed himself closer, seemingly more from instinct than plain thought. Jake smiles despite himself, grasping Dirk’s hand-- _just to comfort the other and so they wouldn’t get separated, of course--_ before pulling him along in the search for a better tailor shop.

 

o0o0o

 

It took quite some while-- _and more than a few rough translations of English to the native language--_ before they found an American-themed store. At the sight of reasonable t-shirts and breathable pants, Jake sighs in relief.

 

He is about to go to the clothes racks when a tan young woman-- _obviously a native to this fine country--_ seemed to just _appear_ in front of him with a wide, obvious salesman-patented smile.

  
“Hello, sir!” she says in accented but more than understandable English. “How may I help you today? We have many great offers and deals today.”

 

Jake relaxes, glad to find another English speaker as well as someone who likely knew more about clothing than Jake. _That… may have been the reason why Dirk had been having trouble with the clothing from before; less so the type and perhaps more so from incorrect sizes…_

 

He clears his throat. “Yes, thank you,” he says politely before gesturing to Dirk-- _who had taken to almost hiding behind Jake; poor dear was still frightfully shy around people._ “We are currently searching for wearable threads for this fine gentleman. He, er, lost all his previous stitches due to… unfortunate circumstances.”

 

The young woman-- _whose name tag read Aisha--_ nods and smiles broadly at Dirk, the latter still very hesitant but nods back respectfully. _Jake is so proud of his progress._

 

“May I take your measurements, Sir?” she asks Dirk with a slight bow of her head. “Or do you already know your exact size?” Her eyes trail down Dirk’s body-- _and obviously ill-fitting clothing--_ before her face reddens.

 

Jake flushes-- _whether from embarrassment or annoyance--_ before clearing his throat. Perhaps a bit louder than needed because it makes her head snap back to him. _Good._

 

“Ah, yes,” he says evenly. “As you can see, he has been borrowing _my_ clothing.” _If he emphasized the **my** , well, everyone had vocal slip-ups now and then. _“And I’m afraid that I am not aware of his actual sizes. Could you please measure him and inform us the best course of action from there?”

 

Her demeanor returns to professional as she nods, gesturing them over to the side rooms.

 

o0o0o

 

The… measuring-- _if you could call it that; Dirk had been frightfully uncomfortable and Jake had to hold himself from snapping at the young woman when she got too close to his… inseam, repeatedly telling himself that it was all a perfectly legitimate business--_ was over quickly-- _not quick enough--_ and, soon, Aisha was asking if there was any particular colors or clothing types they preferred.

 

Jake was about to answer-- _orange or black; the former matched his eyes while the latter highlighted those gorgeous orbs and pale skin--_ before realizing what he was doing and turning to Dirk, embarrassed about his rudeness. “Do you have any preference, Treasure?”

 

He cared not for Aisha’s inquisitive glance at his words, keeping his eyes firmly upon Dirk who had become increasingly uncomfortable since the beginning of this clothing trip. Should they leave? Was he pushing Dirk too soon to be around crowds of people? Dirk could likely survive wearing Jake’s clothing a bit longer--

 

“...black?” says Dirk finally, looking more at Jake than Aisha. “Is… that fine? I mean, it’s your money, and, I--”

 

A strange mixture of _affection_ and _sorrow_ fills Jake, but he nods all the same, moving closer to Dirk beside the measuring stand in the corner of the store.

 

“Of course,” says Jake warmly. “Whatever you want, mate. I said before that I have more than enough funds. If there’s anything that catches your eye, I’ll spare no expense in getting it for you.”

 

Dirk gives a small smile and Jake turns to face Aisha, who was watching them with an embarrassed expression. Jake feels more than a bit smug, informing her of Dirk’s desires and watching her scurry off. It’s not that he had anything against her-- _how could he? They’d barely met--_ but the way she had been looking at Dirk before… well, Jake just didn’t think it strictly professional was all.

 

_Right, that was all it was…_

 

It’s not a minute later before Aisha returns, politely handing Dirk what appears to be a few simple pairs of black shirts and pants before ushering him into the clothing room. Jake waits outside, on a bench much like how this whole thing had began, when he hears a voice speak up beside him.

 

“Hi! Was that a friend of yours?”

 

Startled, Jake turns to his right to see a brunette woman-- _obviously American given her facial features and accent--_ in a, in Jake’s opinion, uneedingly tight red dress that Jake recognized to be from one of the knock-off clothing shops that he and Dirk had passed without another glance from before.

 

For whatever reason, he instantly disliked this woman.

 

“Ah, you mean Dirk?” he asks, polite as ever. “Yes, we are together, why do you ask?”

 

The woman giggles and, suddenly, Jake realizes that there are two other women with her-- _how had he missed them? They, too, were in rather ostentatious dresses of green and purple--_ as the sound echoes. “Can you introduce us?” she asks eagerly.

 

Jake frowns, tensing immediately. “I’m afraid he’s… not fond of strangers.”

 

The woman pouts. “C’mon,” she whines, _and for the love of every blue lady in the world, was she serious?_ “We haven’t seen many other Americans here! I’d _love_ to get to know him better...”

 

_‘And that makes you think you have any right to talk to Dirk?’_ thinks Jake unkindly before clearing his throat. “We’re English,” he corrects, deciding to ignore the fact that Roxy had made Dirk’s birthplace to be Houston, Texas--of all places. “So, I’m afraid, we don’t quite meet that standard.”

 

She frowns. “Same thing,” she dismisses-- _Jake feels more than a bit annoyed._ “And what’s up with you--”

 

“Jake?” Jake hears Dirk’s voice from behind him-- _Jake wondered when he had turned to face the annoying woman, it was rather confrontational for his standards_. “...is everything alright?”

 

“Why, of course, Dirk. Just… talking to this young lady here,” says Jake loudly, not looking at Dirk quite yet and, as a result, was in perfect view to see the annoying women’s jaws _literally_ drop as their eyes seemed to blaze with the fire. Confused, he turned around--and found his jaw nearly unlocking as well.

 

Dirk was… for lack of a better word, _fetching_. Of course, Jake could come up with numerous words-- _captivating, enticing, luring, tempting, enamouring, spellbinding--_ but, the fact of the matter, was that Dirk was _very, very, **very attractive** _ in these new threads.

 

The worker, Aisha, obviously had an adept eye for fashion because, unlike Jake’s clothes, _these_ were obviously tailored made to Dirk’s more slender figure. While simple, they accented Dirk’s every feature  and more. In fact, the black pants seemed to hug curves that Jake had never noticed before-- _had tried not to notice, for it’d be frightfully inappropriate--_ while the black shirt embraced the lines of Dirk’s chest, the neckline dipping down in a rather flattering low-cut V that Jake wondered could be considered the least bit conservative-- _course it wasn’t, what was he thinking?_

 

He had always known that Dirk was attractive, literally spellbound since the moment he laid eyes on him, but he had obviously _failed_ to account for how the gent would look in actually fitting clothes.

 

“Oooh, I know what I want for a souvenir…” says a voice from behind Jake.

 

The _‘magic’_ broke and Jake scowls, head snapping at the American women and _good Lord where the hell did all these people come from!?_ His eyes widen, wondering where in the _blazes_ the sudden influx of onlookers-- _customers and workers alike--_ had appeared from!? Honestly, it was like suddenly staring down a pit of cobras who thought they had _any right_ to gawk at Dirk like this!

 

The American woman, then, has the _audacity_ to step closer, reaching out as if she was actually going to _touch--_

 

Jake springs up, gritting his teeth as he quickly steps in front of the annoying woman-- _as well as all the other peeping toms that apparently had nothing better to do--_ and grabs Dirk’s hand, pulling him back into the clothing room and _firmly_ shutting the door behind him.

 

He fumed, pacing as best as he could in the cramped space as he tried to _will_ the people behind the door to go away. How dare they? Honestly, he had heard of people who could immediately captivate a room when walking in and it seemed, with proper clothing, that Dirk had rightfully joined such ranks. But Jake wasn’t sure how he felt about that. As said before, he had always known that Dirk was attractive but it seemed without Jake’s clothes dwarfing him, it made the _rest of the world_ aware as well. This was unacceptable, the behavior of those onlookers-- _who were likely still outside the door--_ and he ought--

 

“J-Jake?” Dirk’s shaky voice stops Jake’s pacing. “You… I… what did I do wrong?”

 

It’s as if he had just been chucked into the frigid waters of the ocean, Jake’s eyes widening as he turns to face Dirk. For the first time, Jake takes in Dirk’s shaking-- _had he been shaking this entire time? How had Jake missed this!?--_ and obviously terrified expression. His hands were trembling and his body was curled protectively, as if he thought he was about to be attacked from any and every side.

 

“D-Do they know?” whispers Dirk, absolutely terrified, eyes flickering towards the door where the onlookers likely remained. “Do they know that I’m-I’m… is that why you’re… mad… and why they’re staring?”

 

Something sinks inside of Jake and he realized how utterly _blind_ he had been up until now. Here he had been getting jealous while Dirk had been thinking increasingly frightful thoughts. Jake had never felt lousier with his selfishness.

 

“Shh,” he comforts quietly, placing a hand on top of Dirk’s-- _soft, oh so very soft--_ hair and pressing down with slow strokes as he moves as close as possible. “It’s fine… it’s nothing like you’re thinking. I was… I was being rather silly, it’s nothing to do with you. And you’re in no danger.”

 

“Why were you mad? And why were they staring?” asks Dirk, voice still panicked and body tense as he leans into Jake. “Please, Jake, tell me what I did wrong. W-What if they find out my documents are fake? People get taken away for that, right? I--”

 

“Dirk,” Jake says firmly, grasping Dirk’s shoulders and locking eyes, _imploring_ the former spirit to understand. “I swear, even if they did, I _would not_ abandon you--do you understand me? I don’t care how long it took or what obstacles were in my way. If we were ever separated, I _promise_ I would find you again. Alright?”

 

_Jake, for the millionth time, pushes down the voice of logic at the back of his mind telling him that he couldn’t trap Dirk that way--that to do so would make Jake just as horrible as the ones who had imprisoned Dirk all those years ago. But, for now… he would ignore it._

 

Something in his words must have gotten through to Dirk because, next thing he knew, Dirk was relaxing, cuddling into Jake’s chest-- _in a way that made Jake flush down to his toes despite knowing Dirk’s action to be completely innocent--_ and grasping his shirt. “...okay. I… I trust you.”

 

Jake relaxes at Dirk’s words, placing his chin on top of Dirk’s head and humming softly as he strokes Dirk’s hair. For now, he blocks it all out. Logic, the vile rapscallions outside, the fact that they’re in a cramped changing room and should be getting back to their train soon…

 

Because, in the end? The beautiful treasure of a person in Jake’s arms… the feeling of Dirk’s heartbeat against his…

 

_Nothing mattered more._

o0o0o

Later, when they finally exited the clothing room, there was a noticeable absence of the annoying American women and onlookers from before.

 

Instead, it was just the worker, Aisha, who just bowed her head and respectfully asked if they were ready to ring up their purchases as well as asking if there was anything else she could do for them.

 

Jake made sure to leave her a large tip.

 

And, if he was holding Dirk’s hand particularly tight while rushing to get them out of the shopping district-- _where he **swears** everyone was looking Dirk’s way--_ with the newly purchased wares well, he’d just say it was important for them to not miss the train.

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Dirk, this is still early in the world tour after all, so it's all a very tense experience for him. And Jake acting so odd and cagey certainly doesn't help lol. 
> 
> Sorry if this is more disjointed than usual. I’m admittedly distracted from some life events, but I still wanted to get this one out there. 
> 
> Regardless, this was written for PaopuConMostaza! I really appreciate your comments and the inspiration that you provided for this! I’m really sorry if it didn’t live up to expectations, but I still wanted you to know how grateful I am for your support! 
> 
> But the Sequel! These Golden Walls That Divide Us! I shall be releasing the first chapter this Saturday! Excitement everywhere! Please leave a Kudos or Comments to tell me what you think!


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